This program is one of a collection of IT programs at Fanshawe College that allows students to choose a field of study and program length after being exposed to the fundamentals of the IT industry. After the first level, students can choose from programs related to systems technology and networking, programming or web development. After the second level, they can choose from a range of programs offering different specialization, duration and co-op opportunities. All of these choices are part of the Fanshawe Connect approach to learning in which concepts are explained, demonstrated, guided and applied in classes that are an integration of instruction and practice. This is done in a consistent environment provided by laptops that students own. This program, Computer Programmer Analyst, is the most intensive of our software development programs. It is a three-year co-operative education Ontario College Advanced Diploma program designed to provide in-depth training in specific areas of commercial, corporate and recreational software development. An emphasis is placed on object-oriented development in Web, Windows and Linux based client/server environments. Current standard processes and modelling methodologies are utilized under prevailing project management techniques to produce reliable, efficient and secure systems. Projects are developed using advanced tools such as Visual Studio .NET, gcc, XML, J2EE, MS-SQL Server and Oracle. Language studies focus on C++ and Java but also include C#, ASP.NET, JSP and SQL as well as specialized topics such as component based programming, graphics and multi-threading as well as Web services and tiered client/server architectures and mobile device applications. Students learn to develop software starting with the fundamental approaches to programming, then, gradually, move toward complete inception-to-deployment team-based development using state-of-the-art tools and techniques. Students are prepared for several industry standard certifications and are ready to begin in a wide variety of areas; they learn with technology and business cases from the financial, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, service, medical, scientific, engineering and entertainment industries.

Graduates can expect to obtain software construction positions in the following development areas: corporate software, financial, web, business, entertainment and gaming, simulations, medical imaging, programming control systems, commercial applications, network software, Linux and Windows development. As a programmer, database developer, software architect or business analyst, you will have many exciting opportunities in any field that uses computers as a business or research tool.